CFB17 - W1 Rewind - Everything went as expected...

Yes, you read that correctly.  This past week went pretty much exactly as you would expect week 1 to go.  We had some teams that did what they were supposed to do, some that started sluggish, and per usual, some teams that left you asking, wait, what?!

W1 Rewind:

Props, shout-outs, attaboys, well done:

• Alabama's defense, oh, and their special teams, oh, and they have Jalen Hurts...ugh, it's gonna be another one of those Roll Tide years again isn't it?
• OSU pulled away as expected in the 2nd half, but hand it to Indiana for sticking in there for a half.
• Clemson looked dominate, and with the unfortunate news of FSU's starting QB Francois out for the season, this looks like its Clemson's ACC title to lose.
• Many teams did what they were supposed to do the first week, like Georgia beating App St. handily...
• LSU blanked BYU, could there be more competition at the top in the SEC West than we expected?  Nah, probably not.
• Va Tech vs. WVU, what a game!  Only to be over-shadowed by an epic TAMU collapse happening at the same time.
• UAB returned to the gridiron with a solid home opener performance.
• Vandy actually won their opener, first time since 2011, and looked pretty impressive in the process.
• Tennessee is the luckiest freaking team.  Ga Tech owned that game!  There, I said it.

Back to the drawing board, what were you thinking, maybe next year:

• What would you do with a 34 point lead in the 3rd quarter?  Well, don't ask Kevin Sumlin.  Texas A&M rewrote the definition of choke.
• Could Florida's offense actually be worse than it was last year?
• Impressive win by Maryland or disaster at Texas?  Entertaining either way.
• Pitt needed OT to beat an FCS opponent in Youngstown St.
• Apparently, Louisville didn't get the memo that Purdue is terrible.  
• James Madison beat ECU, out-gaining them by 5 yards PER PLAY...
• I really wanted to watch the Trash TV that is Kiffin at FAU, but that was about as exciting as watching paint dry.

Upsets that receive their own section:

• Liberty.  A Christian University in Lynchburg, VA...beat Baylor!
• The largest upset in the last 10 years came at the hands of Howard University over UNLV.  45 point road underdogs, where a $100 bet to win paid over $50,000!

If you haven't seen this already, this story is amazing: https://twitter.com/Pac12Network/status/904143401028698112

Overreaction, aka "Hot Take," corner:

• Could South Carolina win the SEC East?
• Is Clemson's new QB better than Watson?

Boom-skaka-laka!
DWhit

Sign up to play! 15th year, "College Crazies!" Yahoo College Football Pick'em 2017

15th year! "College Crazies!" Dustin Whittier is Challenging YOU to College Football Pick 'em on Yahoo! Sports

It's that time of year again...  College Football Pick'em time! (skip to the highlighted area for directions to sign up)

• Most of you know the drill.  This is a weekly fantasy college football competition.  It is FREE to play.  You only have to make your picks once a week, and it only takes 5 mins!  

• Like last year, I will be sending my weekly recaps via this blog site.  We'll see how long I last this year.  Over/under is about 8 weeks, but I'll do my best.  So check back / subscribe for the best of the weekend's football action, highlights of picks gone right, and shout-outs to the picks gone terribly wrong. 

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Follow the directions below to sign up.  The first set of picks will be available on Monday, August 28th.  #AnchorDown

(Those that played last year may have already received an automated invite from Yahoo)

• In order to join the group, just go to College Football Pick'em, and click the "Join Group" button. From there, enter the following information...
• Group ID#: 3939
• Password: dores

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A couple of notes about the pick'em game if you want to know more:

1. This group uses confidence based scoring, you make your picks by selecting the winner for that game AND how many confidence points you want on the game. Its like betting more money (points) on the games you're most confident will win.  If you're not sure how this works, please email me!
2. Picks are locked 5 mins before the first game of the week.  IMPORTANT - the first game could be on Thurs or Fri (like the first week) - so be sure to check your picks early in the week (Tues or Wed).  The good thing is when the picks are locked, you can see everyone's picks for fun taunting during the weekend.
3. We will drop each team's lowest week's score this year.
4. When you sign up, there is a choice to “Allow the commissioner to edit your picks” – I would highly recommend selecting this option – inevitably you will forget to make your picks and call me 10 minutes prior to game time, without this enabled I can't help ya.

ENJOY!!!  Hope to see everyone signed up, the more teams the better - so as always, feel free to forward this to friends and family!  Email me if you have any questions.  15 years in a row strong and we continue to have great competition each year.  So bring your A-game.

-DWhit

CFB16 - W7 Rewind, W8 Preview - "When we play really good teams, the runs aren't going to be so easy."

If I told you that one team had 421 total yards of offense and their opponent had 171 yards, what would you predict as the outcome?  What if I also told you that one team dominated possession by nearly 10 mins more than the other.  Further, neither team had turnovers, so there was no material advantage there either.

I feel pretty confident you'd assume that the statistically dominant team won by, let's say, at least 10 points?  Maybe 17?  Well, you'd be WRONG!  Not when you're playing a scrappy D Mason led Vanderbilt team.  Or perhaps more accurately a Kirby Smart led Georgia team?  The Commodores upset the Bulldogs in Athens this weekend 17-16, notching Mason's first road SEC win of his career.  #AnchorDown

W7 Rewind:

Front and Center: Alabama, Ohio State, WVU, Vandy
Bringing up the Rear: Clemson, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Georgia

• Tennessee, riddled with injuries, ran into a crimson tide buzz saw as Alabama rolled to a 49-10 win.  Did you know that 7 of Alabama's 11 defensive starters have scored a TD?  Meanwhile, South Carolina has scored 9 TDs, total, all year.  Oh yeah, and then Saban had this quote after the game...are you not entertained?!: ""When we play really good teams, the runs aren't going to be so easy."
• Wisconsin had an unbelievable game plan against the Buckeyes, rushing for 236 yards, but just couldn't hold on as Ohio State won 30-23 in overtime.
• Was this the wake up call that Clemson needed?  In an unbelievable turn of events, NC State missed a 33 yard walk-off, game-winning field goal.  The Tigers then capitalized on their fortune and won 24-17 in overtime.
• Missouri's QB Drew Lock threw more pass TDs to Florida players than his own, Florida won 40-14.
• Louisville was a roughing the kicker penalty away from being in serious danger of their second loss, the Cardinals beat Duke 24-14.
• Nebraska beat the aforementioned secretly decent Indiana team 27-22.
• Didn't I say that Arkansas sneaks up to bite someone every year?  Well, this week the Rebels, Bears, Landsharks (can you please make up your mind as to what we should call you?!) fell victim to the Razorbacks, losing 34-30.
• Houston was clearly still hungover from that Navy loss as Tulsa fumbled away (literally) their chance at knocking off the Cougars.  Houston won 38-31.
• It is hard to know what to make of this Miami team, or really the entire ACC for that matter.  UNC won 20-13 despite not scoring in the second half.
• Speaking of the ACC, how does Virginia Tech go from destroying UNC to then losing to Syracuse?  Syracuse won 31-17.
• Who's buying this undefeated West Virginia team?  Well, we'll soon find out as their schedule is very back loaded.  WVU won 48-17 against Texas Tech.
• Speaking of undefeated, Boise State and Western Michigan both won to remain undefeated and retain hopes of a New Year's Day bowl birth.
• BYU rushed the field on Friday night after beating a 2-3 Mississippi St team, at home, and as a 7 point favorite.  #classy
• USC appears to have found their stride, beating Arizona 48-14.  Yes, it was Arizona, who may be the worst team in the Pac-12, but still, a win is a win.
• My how far you have fallen when the Stanford vs. Notre Dame game gets buried this far into the week's recap.  Notre Dame seems to have just lost any will to win, giving up a 10 point lead and losing 17-10.  Literally every point Stanford scored was on defense... (pick six, safety, fumble in end zone for six).

Game of the weekend:  Even though Bama trounced Tennessee, the best game of the weekend was the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game.  This game had the feeling of a playoff atmosphere, with both teams trading blow after blow!

W8 Preview:

This week has some very interesting story lines and potential playoff implications, and we kick it all off on Thursday (all times central):

• Thursday, 6:00 pm
• Miami at Virginia Tech: Which team will rebound from a Week 7 loss?
• 9:15 pm
• BYU at #14 Boise State: Possibly the undefeated Broncos' hardest test to date against a very well balanced Cougars team.
• Friday, 9:30 pm
• Oregon at Cal:  Ok, I wouldn't necessarily recommend watching this.  Oregon is pretty bad.  But this may be the Ducks' last chance at a win.
• Saturday, 11:00 am
• NC State at #7 Louisville:  You saw how much trouble NC State gave Clemson last week, can they do the same against Louisville?
• #10 Wisconsin at Iowa:  A potential let down spot for the Badgers?
• 2:30 pm
• #6 TAMU at #1 Alabama:  Vegas is clearly riding the roll tide wave, as Alabama is a 18 point favorite against the Aggies this week.  Can dual threat QB Trevor Knight replicate his 2014 Sugar Bowl performance?
• TCU at #12 WVU:  Will we start to learn what the Mountaineers are truly made of this week?
• 5:00 pm
• #17 Arkansas at #21 Auburn:  No one really knows which team is going to show up in this game.  Is it the Auburn that beat LSU, or that lost to TAMU?  Is it the Arkansas that beat Ole Miss, or almost lost to Louisiana Tech (you almost forgot about that didn't you)?
• 7:00 pm
• #2 Ohio State at Penn State:  You think James Franklin expected to be a 20 point underdog at home his 3rd year in Happy Valley?
• #16 Oklahoma at Texas Tech:  The Sooners are still the best team in the Big 12, right?
• #23 Ole Miss at #25 LSU:  Coach O would like to erase many memories from his stint at Ole Miss, maybe this is part of the healing process?

If I were a betting man (YTD record 7-9): Miami +6.5, Syracuse +4.5, Arky +10, Ole Miss +6.5, TAMU +18

Your Domestic Duty Deadline (DDD) this week:  2:30 pm.

Vandy Update:
I've already sufficiently covered last week's remarkable win in Athens, or have I?  In case you missed it, Vanderbilt beat Georgia 17-16.  And through the transitive property, that means Georgia Tech will beat Georgia 38-6 on November 26th.  #EngineerMath

This week, Vandy hosts Tennessee State at home for homecoming.  Surely this will be a win, right?

Florida Update:
Last week Florida made a statement against Missouri, winning on every side of the ball.  But it was Missouri, how much can we really read into that?

This week Florida is on a BYE as they prepare for the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party next week against Georgia (who is also on a BYE).

“They'll score if they can just get into the endzone.”

DWhit

CFB16 - W6 Rewind, W7 Preview - Tenn luck runs out and the rain that never happened

In a week that started with controversy as early as Wednesday, football games were still played even in stadiums that actually got rain...

W6 Rewind:

Center stage + (pos):  TAMU, Washington, Va Tech, Bama, Michigan
Center stage - (neg):  LSU and Florida, Notre Dame (again), Stanford, MSU (both)

• I mean, could it really be possible to top the last 2 mins of the Tenn vs. Georgia game?  Well, did you watch the last 3 mins of the TAMU game?  Bounces finally did not fall the Volunteers way, fumbling six times and losing five, but somehow they managed to still take this game to double overtime.  TAMU won 45-38.
• Also, why can't these college players figure out how to hold on to the ball until AFTER they cross the goal line?!
• Does Arkansas have an offensive line? Bama's defensive line rushed Allen 12 times and sacked him six times in a pretty dominate 49-30 win.
• Ohio State held off a secretly decent Indiana and won 38-17.
• Rutgers had 39 yards of offense, in TOTAL.  Michigan won 78-0.
• Maybe Washington going undefeated wasn't such a crazy prediction.  Well, they're halfway there, while breaking a 12 game losing streak to Oregon in the process, winning 70-21.
• Unbelievable that the #6 team in the country losing to Navy would get buried this far in the highlights, but that's what Week 6 brought you.  Navy beat Houston 46-40, in all likelihood eliminating any possibility of a group of 5 team making the playoff.
• You think PATs are automatic?  Ask Miami fans.  After Miami dominated the first half, FSU turned it on in the second half, and won 20-19 after Miami scored the game tying touch down to quickly be followed by a blocked PAT.
• BYU beat Mich St 31-14.  My how far you've fallen, Spartans.
• Stanford just lost to both Washington teams.  Wait, what?  Will the Apple Cup be the difference in an undefeated season?  Wash St won 42-16.
• Jerod Evans passed for 75 yards and VT won 34-3 against UNC.
• Texas gave it a good ole' boy try, but just came up short, as the red river shootout lived up to it's name and Oklahoma won 45-40.
• Confusingly good Auburn or acceptingly bad MSST?  Auburn won 38-14.
• Vandy on track to another 3 win season.  Hey, that's almost as good as last year.  Kentucky won 20-13.
• Florida and LSU game gets suspended on a day that the weather in Gainesville was basically sunny, and yet Notre Dame and NC ST played in a literal monsoon.  NCST wins 10-3 where 6 offensive points were scored.
• Will Notre Dame go to a bowl game?  No, I'm serious.  Look at their remaining schedule, they need 4 wins out of this...:  Stanford (L), Miami (L), Navy (? they just beat houston), Army (W), Va Tech (?), USC (?).

Game of the weekend:  Navy beating Houston.  There were multiple games to choose from, but knocking out what was likely to be the only Group of 5 team who had a chance at the playoff takes the cake.

W7 Preview:

This week is somewhat light, with a couple heavy hitters that should keep us entertained (all times central):

• Friday, 6:00 pm
• Duke at #7 Louisville, where Duke is a 35 point underdog.
• 9:15 pm
• MSST at BYU: can BYU go 2-0 against MSUs?
• Saturday, 11:00 am
• NC ST at #3 Clemson: at least they won't be playing in a monsoon.
• 2:30 pm
• #10 Nebraska at secretly decent Indiana.
• UNC at #16 Miami where the battle for the Coastal continues.
• #1 Alabama at #9 Tennessee: the Vols can't afford to lay another 1st half egg against the Tide.
• 3:00 pm
• Missouri at #18 Florida, no hurricane in the forecast so I'm pretty sure they'll play this game.
• 6:00 pm
• #12 Ole Miss at #22 Arkansas: Arky isn't very good, but every year they sneak up and bite someone, could this be the week?
• 7:00 pm
• #2 Ohio State at #8 Wisconsin: arguably the best team the Buckeyes have played to date, and it's at Camp Randall which will most certainly be jumping around.

If I were a betting man (YTD record 4-8):  Tenn +13, Neb -3.5, Arky +7.5, Wisc +10

Your Domestic Duty Deadline (DDD) this week:  2:30 pm.  If history is any indication, you should basically just tune in around 5pm to catch the last 5 mins of the Bama vs. Tenn game and then carry on to the Ole Miss and Ohio State games.

Vandy Update:
In a game that most people figured would be the beginning of the end for the losing team's head coach, Vandy gives up 258 yds rushing to the Wildcats and lose 20-13.  I want to believe in you D Mason, but you're giving us zero reason to do so.  This week Vandy travels to Athens where the Bulldogs have finally figured out they have a star running back in Nick Chubb, and if Kentucky can put up 258 yds rushing...Vandy at Georgia (11am).

Florida Update:
Nothing to update here because, in case you hadn't heard, Florida didn't play a game last week.  This week, the Gators play the Tigers at home.  Missouri at Florida (3pm).

“Playing in this nice weather really makes me remember all the times I got stung by a bee.”

DWhit

CFB16 - W4 Rewind, W5 Preview - 12th time's a charm...

This week's write up will be short and sweet, much like the Florida lead on Saturday.

W4 Rewind:

Center stage + (pos): Tennessee, Wisconsin, TAMU, Clemson
Center stage - (neg): USC, UGA, LSU, Mich St.

When something hasn't happened in 12 years, it's only appropriate to remember that historic year for what it was:

• "TheFacebook" launched
• Martha Stewart went to jail
• Jeopardy genius Ken Jennings loses
• Friends has its finale episode
• Lost premiers
• Alicia Keys changed weddings forever with "If I ain't got you"
• Lindsay Lohan brought us this gem:
• https://youtu.be/oZstsOOpDZo

Ok, back to football...

• Florida apparently watched too much Ole Miss film, as they squandered a 21-0 first half lead and lost to Tennessee 38-28.
• Speaking of Ole Miss, they played a full four quarters, crushing the Georgia bulldogs 45-14.
• Virginia Tech brought home the first ACC win over ECU, 54-17.
• Clemson's defense dominated a Yellow Jacket option offense like Derek Mason could only dream of doing, winning 26-7.
• USC dropped to 1-3 after Utah storms back to win in the last minute, 31-17.
• Alabama blanks Nick Saban's alma mater, Kent State, winning 48-0.
• Christian McCaffrey is held to only 150 all purpose yards, but Stanford still finds a way to win, beating UCLA 22-13 with a late back door cover.
• Anyone know what to make of Wisconsin?  Or the entire Big Ten except Ohio State and Michigan?  Wisconsin dismantles Michigan State's offense, winning 30-6.
• Speaking of lost teams, Notre Dame finally gets a sack, but in a losing effort against the behemoth blue devils of Duke, notching their first win against the Irish since 1958, winning 38-35.
• I don't think anyone wants to play TAMU at this point, as they win in impressive fashion against Arkansas 45-24.
• If I told you that Auburn wouldn't score a single touchdown against LSU, what chance would you have given that they would win?  Well they did.  And LSU decided enough was enough, firing Les Miles the next day.  Auburn won 18-13, in one of the craziest replay reversals at an end of a game that I've ever seen.
• And after 4 weeks, we're officially left with an undefeated Wake Forest and Maryland and a 1-3 Notre Dame and USC...

W5 Preview:

This week brings us a heisman hopeful matchup and three top 10 matchups (ct):

• Fri, 8:00 pm
• #7 Stanford at #10 Washington:  Will Washington's undefeated quest end in Week 5?
• Sat, 11:00 am
• Florida at Vandy:  The number of jorts worn on Natchez Trace is sure to quadruple this weekend.
• #14 Miami at Georgia Tech:  Miami faces their first true test as Mark Richt matches up against a very familiar foe.
• 2:30 pm
• #8 Wisconsin at #4 Michigan:  Is Wisconsin for real?  Is Michigan for real?
• #11 Tennessee at #25 Georgia:  With a win here, Tennessee will all but lock up the East.  In Week 5.
• 4:00 pm
• (unranked) Oklahoma at #21 TCU:  If nothing else, this game is worth watching just for those cool new TCU helmets.
• 7:00 pm
• #3 Louisville at #5 Clemson:  Hard to believe that a Louisville team is ranked higher and favored on the road against an undefeated Clemson.  But believe it, because Lamar Jackson is legit.

If I were a betting man:

• Stan +3, Ga Tech +7, Tenn -3.5, Louisville -2

Your Domestic Duty Deadline (DDD) this week: 2:30pm

Vandy Update:
Vandy won in OT against WKU 31-30 and this week hosts the Gators at 11:00 am.

Florida Update:
I think I've already covered the Florida collapse of 2016.  This week they travel to play Vandy.

"The defense should be expecting a run or a pass here."

DWhit

CFB16 - W3 Rewind, W4 Preview - Louisville is really good, and we're not talking basketball

Is it possible to lead with anything other than the utter dominance that Louisville showed over Free Shoes U (FSU) to open our Saturday slate of games?  The answer is, no.

Words can not fully describe what happened on Saturday at Papa John's Stadium.  In a blink of an eye, a Lamar Jackson led Louisville team hung 63 points on #2 FSU.  At one point, Louisville scored 7, yes SEVEN, touchdowns in a row.  But the keyword here is team.  Although Lamar Jackson was good, I mean really good (now the odds-on Heisman favorite), this was a complete team win.  The Louisville defense held the former Heisman favorite Dalvin Cook to 54 yards rushing and the FSU offense to just 2-13 on 3rd downs.  Winning 63-20, it was most certainly the most surprising result of the weekend.

W3 Rewind:

Center stage + (pos):  Lamar Jackson and the whole Louisville team, Ohio State, North Dakota State
Center stage - (neg): Notre Dame, FSU, Ole Miss, Derek Mason

Even without Louisville's sensational Saturday start, there were still plenty of headlines throughout the day:

• Ohio State just looked plain ole faster than Oklahoma, winning 45-24, and demonstrating this ridiculous athleticism:

• Is Michigan State good, or is Notre Dame defense, one of only two FBS teams yet to record a sack, just really bad?  MSU wins 36-28 in a score that was closer than the product on the field.
• Ole Miss somehow choked another 2nd half away, blowing a second 21 point first half lead, losing to Alabama 48-43
• Miami looked impressive against a slower and smaller App St, winning 45-10.  Shall I remind you that this is the same App St team that almost beat Tennessee in overtime?
• Don't schedule North Dakota State.  Just don't do it.  5 time FCS champion North Dakota State beat #13 Iowa 23-21, bringing their streak to 6-0 consecutive wins over FBS teams.
• Houston struggled early with an injured Greg Ward, but dominated in the 4th quarter, beating Cincinnati 40-16.
• Stanford looked like they were holding back, as they easily handled USC, winning 27-10.
• Wisconsin narrowly escaped losing to Georgia State, 23-17
• Did former defensive coordinator Charlie Strong forget how to coach defense?  Texas defense gave up half a hundo, losing to California 50-43.
• Georgia needed late game heroics from Eason to beat Mizzou 28-27, while leaving a mark on Mizzou's Jonathon Johnson after this hit:

• Have you ever seen a kick off from the 20 yard line?  The receiving team's 20 yard line. Me neither:
• http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/09/17/eastern-michigan-kickoff-charlotte-20-yard-line
• Lastly, Texas Tech brought you this crazy touchdown:
• https://twitter.com/TexasTechFB/status/777301769969766401/video/1

Game of the weekend:  Goes without saying, FSU at Lousiville.

W4 Preview:

This week starts off on Thursday but ends with a pretty light slate Saturday night (all times central):

• Thurs, 6:30 pm
• Clemson travels to Bobby Dodd Stadium to play the Yellow Jackets where Georgia Tech is 1-5 in Thurs night games.
• Friday, 8:00 pm
• USC plays at Utah, can USC turn it around?
• Saturday, 11:00 am
• #12 Georgia visits The Grove as a 7 pt underdog to play #23 Ole Miss
• Wisconsin at Mich St, I'm going to go out on a limb and say Michigan State is better than Georgia State.
• 2:30 pm
• Florida at Tennessee, both teams are riddled with injuries from Week 3, but this one is sure to be fierce.
• 5:00 pm
• LSU at Auburn, I'll bet you that the Tigers win.
• 7:00 pm
• Stanford at UCLA, UCLA's offense is better than USC, but is that enough?
• 8:00 pm
• Arkansas at TAMU, Arkansas offensive line vs. TAMU defensive line is one of the best unit match-ups of the weekend, if you like that sort of thing.
• 9:30 pm
• Washington at Arizona, Washington finally plays a real team.

If I were a betting man:

• Mich St -5.5, Penn St. +19, LSU -3.5, Neb -7

Your Domestic Duty Deadline (DDD) this week:  This week is a bit abnormal, with most of the good games early in the day.  Flip your schedule around, watch the early games, and you should be free by 5:30 pm to take that special someone out on the town.  This may be your only Saturday of the season that you'll have your evening mostly free, so make good use of it and earn some brownie points.

Vandy Update:
I don't even know where to start.  It isn't so much that we lost to Georgia Tech, it's HOW we lost to Georgia Tech.  Up until this point, Vandy fans had given D Mason somewhat of a pass.  Should we have won against South Carolina?  Sure.  But we did hold the Gamecocks to 13 points, so maybe our defense is really good like everyone thought.  Or, maybe not.

Let me put this in perspective. Mercer University located in Macon, Georgia a) scored more points against Georgia Tech last week, and b) held Georgia Tech to fewer points than Vanderbilt.

Vandy travels 60 miles north to Bowling Green, KY to play Western Kentucky where the Commodores are a 7.5 pt underdog.

Florida Update:
Florida looked dominate against North Texas last week, but didn't walk away unscathed.  The Gator's starting QB Luke Del Rio was injured in the 3rd quarter and is out for at least this week's Tennessee game.

This week, Florida travels to Neyland Stadium in the first major SEC East match-up.  The Volunteers are a 6.5 point favorite in what's sure to be a heated game.

“Hey, the offensive linemen are the biggest guys on the field, they're bigger than everybody else, and that's what makes them the biggest guys on the field.”

DWhit

CFB16 - W2 Rewind, W3 Preview - I guess it wasn't all that bad

To an extent, this week surpassed expectations.  Order was somewhat restored to the college football landscape, but there were also some glaring questions still left unanswered.

W2 Rewind:

Center stage + (pos):  Louisville, Tenn, Michigan, OSU
Center stage - (neg):  OkSt, TCU, MAC and Big 12 officiating, UGA

Although it was one of the weaker schedules in recent memory, when you have 50+ college football games, you still get some fantastic nuggets:

• CMU wins on a hail mary play that should have never happened, beating OKST 30-27
• Both the officiating crew and replay crew were suspended as a result
• http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/9/11/12878988/central-michigan-hail-mary-cooper-rush-jesse-kroll
• Georgia almost loses to a high school team (not literally, sorta), after being favored by 52 and winning by 2.  Yes, 2.
• Auburn's Kyle Davis continues dominating with this insane catch:



• Clemson is still hung over from the national championship, beating Troy 30-24
• Louisville offense looks impressive as they roll Syracuse 62-28
• Order was restored in Starkville, as Mississippi St. finds its stride against the Gamecocks, winning 27-14
• San Diego State may have the best running back in the country (Donnel Pumphrey) as he breaks Marshall Faulk's Aztecs' all time leading rusher record
• Did LSU find a QB in Danny Etling.  I guess so when 6-14 (that's almost 43%!), 100 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT is better than they got from Harris last week against wisconsin...
• Oh yeah, and a football game was played at a race track
• http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/tennessee-football/20-jaw-dropping-images-battle-bristol/
• Congrats to Tenn for winning the Battle at Bristol.  I mean, how else should you celebrate beating a week 2 unranked opponent than with a giant stage, crap ton of confetti, and a trophy:

• But then there is this.  America!

Game of the weekend:  Arkansas at TCU

In this game alone you had a game winning kick blocked, a last minute TD and a successful 2 pt conversion to tie, and 2 OTs.  Arkansas wins 41 - 38.

Overreaction corner:

• Louisville's QB Lamar Jackson will win the Heisman
• Tennessee will go to the playoffs
• Greyson Lambert should be the starter at Georgia

W3 Preview:

This week is set up to have one very loaded evening slate (all times central):

• 11:00 am 
• FSU plays at Louisville where they are hosting College Gameday for the first time in school history
• 2:30 pm 
• Alabama at Ole Miss, which Ole Miss team will show up?
• Oregon at Nebraska, and Nebraska is favored!
• 6:00 pm
• TAMU at Auburn, unranked Auburn is favored against #17 TAMU
• MSST at LSU, will either team score 20 points?
• 6:30 pm
• Mich St at Notre Dame, that other michigan team is pretty good too
• UGA at Mizzou, I'm pretty sure Mizzou is better than Nichols St
• Ohio St at Oklahoma, where Oklahoma is a home underdog for the first time since they won the national championship
• 7:00pm
• USC at Stanford, don't sleep on the Trojans just yet

Other Notes:
 - Miami plays at App State, yes AT App State
 - Michigan is still in preseason mode as they host Colorado, this time with a game line of only -20.5

If I were a betting man...

• TAMU +3.5, USC +9, MSST +12.5, MSU +7.5

Your Domestic Duty Deadline (DDD) this week:  11:00 am.  Hopefully you took care of business last week and built up some honey-do credit, because this week you're going to need it.

Vandy Update:
Question, which SEC team's running back leads the conference in rushing as of today?  I'll give you a hint, its not LSU or Alabama.

After a hurricane rolled through Nashville, Vandy showed its rushing dominance we were expecting, beating MTSU 47-24.  Webb is now 777 yards shy of breaking none other than Zac Stacy's all-time leading rusher record of 3,143 yds.

This week Vandy plays at Georgia Tech at 11:30 am.  Will that Mason defense be able to stop the ramblin wreck option offense?

Florida Update:
What is there to say here except utter dominance?  Florida crushed Kentucky 45-7 to extend the win streak to 30 in a row.  Kentucky had as many completions to Florida players as they did to their own wide receivers (3).

This week Florida hosts North Texas in preparation for the showdown on rocky top next week.

“Well, when you're playing good football, it's good football and if you don't have good football, then you're not really playing good football.”
DWhit